Bernadette Benda

Every kind of artist has a different struggle. Writer’s though, seem to have a unique struggle,and as of yet, I haven’t heard of other artists having this same problem. I shall call it, the “Banging Your Head Against a Wall” syndrome. It is more commonly known as Writer’s Block.

For a lot of writers, Writer’s Block is actually a kind of constant state. That times that we are inspired, where we type madly and whip a few pages out in a matter of minutes, yeah, those are good times.

The rest is either slogging through mud or jogging quietly along. One of which is better than the other, but neither of which is optimal. Basically, it’s almost always sludge work. In my experience, it seems writers complain about writing more than any other artist does about their work.

And I believe it’s because everyday we are faced with a blank page, which must be filled up. The only thing that can fill up the page is stuff from your own brain. And sometimes our brains just don’t feel it.

I’m also a dancer. Being a dancer, I can say, is a totally different game. Like a game, there are a set of rules (especially ballet, which is what I’m focusing on right now). Warm up at the barre is structured, things are switched up, but there is an order that is always followed. Same with floor work. Even choreography. There is music that can be worked with, and only ballet steps can be used, so that narrows down the options. You are never working from a blank slate.

Unlike us writers here.

So am I going to come up with a solution? (or just rant?)

What I’m trying to say is that there really is no solution for writer’s block. There are ways to avoid it (like not scrolling through pinterest for too long) ways to help it (wear comfy pants and drink coffee) but in the end, it will be there.

Why? Because we’re not perfect. We may be writers, but that doesn’t make us perfect.

Some morning we will wake up with a cold, we’ll get a headache in the afternoon, there will be crazy busy weeks, and there will be days when we are just tired and distracted.

Rant over.

~Bernadette